by Paul White, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul White, USA TODAY Sports

Third base could be the least of the places where the likelihood of playing the 2014 season without Alex Rodriguez will affect the New York Yankees.

Knowing Rodriguez won't be available allows the Yankees to make other commitments to fill the position, but those options aren't much better than the low bar that was set by Yankees third basemen last season.

Taking $27.5 million off what the Yankees have committed to payroll â?? and the $189 million luxury tax threshold the team says it would like to get under â?? is more significant. Plus, having Rodriguez on the field all season likely would have added another $6 million to the payroll thanks to a clause in Rodriguez's contract that awards him for the six homers he needs to match Willie Mays' 660 on the all-time list.

The biggest payroll adjustments for the Yankees this winter prior to the Rodriguez decision were the addition of Jacoby Ellsbury ($21.1 million this year) but the free-agency loss of Robinson Cano

With Rodriguez off the books, the current '14 payroll commitments are just over $150 million. That will rise some as contracts are finalized with lower-priced members of the roster but certainly leaves room for the possibility of signing Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka.

The Yankees were all in on Tanaka anyway, but their flexibility has increased dramatically, creating trade options to upgrade other areas.

Or the upgrades could be pitching, pitching, pitching. While the current focus remains on Tanaka, the free-agent market still includes Ervin Santana, Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez and Johan Santana.

The only certainties in the Yankees rotation at this point are CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda â?? a couple of veterans who faded late last season â?? plus Ivan Nova.

And there's still the possibility the Yankees could take on a significant contract through trade â?? their most likely trade chip being outfielder Brett Gardner, who's in a crowd that includes Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, Alfonso Soriano and Ichiro Suzuki.

And, of course, there's still a third base void that must be filled.

Still on the free agent market is a cast of characters not unlike the group that produced 52 RBI and a .633 OPS, both the worst figures from third basemen for any AL team. And the Yankees' 12 homers from third basemen were second-to-last in the league.

Rodriguez's production â?? seven homers, 19 RBI and a .771 OPS in 44 games â?? was well below his career standards but better than the rest of the cast.

The Yankees used 11 third basemen last year â?? including the recently dumped Vernon Wells for an inning â?? but only Eduardo Nunez from that group currently is on the roster. Nunez had a .679 OPS in 90 games but spent more time filling in for injured shortstop Derek Jeter, an issue the Yankees are optimistic won't recur in 2014..

Kelly Johnson, who has spent most of his eight major league seasons at second base, is the most significant third base-capable addition this offseason. Johnson had a career-high 26 homers as Arizona's second baseman in 2010 and hit 16 last season with a .717 OPS in 407 plate appearances as a Tampa Bay utility player.

With Rodriguez's fate for the season settled â?? barring the unlikely success of legal challenges â?? some veteran options might be more willing to listen to Yankees overtures.

The available list includes Michael Young and Placido Polanco, both defensive questions marks in the latter portions of their careers, plus several guys who already have Yankees entries on their resumes â?? Mark Reynolds, Cody Ransom, Wilson Betemit and Chris Nelson.